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Greater Vision 2050

This is the Story about the path and process on how Greater Helsinki municipalities take steps towards a flourishing and sustainable future. Greater Helsinki – a Fast Growing Region

Helsinki Region of 14 cities and municipalities, also called Greater Helsinki, is a dynamic and evolving metropolis in the junction of international development corridors and other parts of . During the past two decades, Helsinki Region has been one of the fastest growing urban areas within the European Union. The region, with the city of Helsinki as its core, is Finland’s administrative and cultural centre and economic powerhouse. Its population is currently over 1.3 million, of which 580,000 live in Helsinki City itself. Hyvinkää Mäntsälä

Järvenpää Nurmijärvi

Vihti

Vantaa

Kauniainen

Helsinki

Kirkkonummi

Greater Helsinki is located in the extreme south of Fin- Greater Helsinki land by the . Stockholm lies to the west, St Petersburg is situated approxi- mately 400 km to the east and St. Petersburg Tallinn 60 km to the south. Stockholm Tallinn ary und stri The Ideas Competition Bo ps

To enhance the common vision and deeper cooperation, a unique ique ic Un ness ist international ideas competition - ol Greater Helsinki Vision 2050 – was H organised in 2007 by the region’s 14 municipalities, together with the Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Association of Architects. The targets and time perspective of the competition were exceptionally comprehensive and many-faceted, comprising the placement of 700,000 new residents in the region following sustainable principles. The aim was to face the ever- growing challenges posed by Emerald climate change, an ageing population, the fragmentation of urban structures and international competition.

Line TM Orlando ary und stri Bo ps

The winning entries were: ique ic Un ness 1st Emerald (Finland), joint 2nd ist ol H Boundary Strips (Germany), Towards City 2.0 (Finland) and Holistic Uniqueness (Germany), etrosca M pe and purchases Metroscape (Germany), Orlando (Italy), (R)evolver (Finland), Line TM (Switzerland) and Thirdlife ards cit (Netherlands). ow y 2 T .0 See more on competition on web site www.greaterhelsinkivision.fi.

Emerald

Thirdlife (R)evolver

Line TM The Follow-Up Project Public transport After the competition, a follow-up project was carried and personal out during 2008 to analyse the proposals, evaluate the prize-winning ideas, involve the views of the public and mobility recommend how to proceed with the vision process.

An increasingly dense urban Nine Viewpoints on the framework with Regional Visionn mixed functions An energy- and material- efficient metropolitan region Metropolitan A unified governance urban and strategic structure planning The diver- sification of life- styles New forms Added value and locations through for production intraregional and labour division of The relationship between nature functions and habitation Channels for Communication and Interaction

More than 250 ideas were identified from Channels for feedback and participation were the winning entries. Using an iterative offered via web-pages, public workshops and process they were organised into 9 seminars. The material and outcome of the project thematic ‘Ideas Flocks’ or viewpoints were compiled in the final on the vision. One important aim of the report which acted as a basis for vision process was to bring together drafting the verbal vision and the views of decision makers, planning strategic alignments on how experts and the public on the future to reach the targets by 2050. of the region, thereby committing everyone to the implementation of the joint vision in their operations. The Decision-making on the Vision 2050

Cooperation between the 14 Helsinki Region municipalities is happening nowadays on a regular basis. Leading planning experts of these municipalities form an Advisory Board on Land Use, Housing and Traffic (MAL-neuvottelukunta). There is also a high level cooperation body called MAL- Division (MAL-jaosto) which is the link between these municipalities and three Governmental Ministries. After the Ideas Competition which was led by MAL-Division, MAL-Advisory Board drafted during 2009 the verbal vision, strategic alignments and measures to implement them. The Vision and the Alignments were approved by the Helsinki Region Cooperative Assembly which is the highest political cooperation body between these municipalities.

The next concrete steps will be the new Regional Land Use Plan of 28 municipalities and Helsinki Region Mobility Plan (HLJ- 2011) of 14 municipalities. These will also form a basis for a next Letter of Intent between Helsinki Region´s municipalities and three Governmental Ministries on long term objectives of housing construction and the priority list of traffic infrastructure projects. Common Vision

The Helsinki Region is a dynamic world-class centre for business and innovation. Its high-quality services, arts and science capabilities, creativity and adaptability promote the prosperity of its citizens and bring benefits to all of Finland. The is being developed as a unified region, close to nature, where it is good to live, learn, work and do business.

The harmonious urban structure of the region is based on public transport; it is versatile by its operations as well as eco-efficient and low carbon. The compact core area is encircled by a network of distinctive centres. Strategic alignments for Land Use, Housing and Mobility 2050 I Strategic alignment

The absolute must for the success of the region of Greater Helsinki is international networking, and all obstacles to it shall be cleared. The Region will be formed into a multicultural metropolis with a functional local economy.

Measures

1 The Region shall be linked with international and global networks.

2 Active cooperation shall be conducted with different actors and and other parts of Finland, because that is a prerequisite for international competitiveness.

3 The Successful Metropolis competitiveness 6 Planning shall be based on a high quality strategy shall be expanded to cover the whole living environment, for this supports a happy Region. The relevant municipalities’ roles in life. Thus a happy life can increasingly be realizing the strategy shall be determined. based on quality factors of At the same time, steps shall be taken to wellbeing beside GNP meters. stop putting the Region and other parts of the country in a confronting position. 7 The concentration of underprivilegedness possibly related to immigration shall be 4 The cooperation shall be so expanded avoided by ensuring the availability of that international businesses, politicians, affordable housing in various parts building contractors etc. join in. of the Region.

5 In developing the Region, the growing importance of local economy to national economy is taken into account. II Strategic alignment

Land use solutions are developed to diminish the need for personal mobility and to increase energy efficiency. Land use planning is applied to create opportunities for communities that utilize renewable energy sources and to be prepared for organizing future energy management in ways different from the present. Furthermore, it is necessary to be prepared for problems resulting from climate change, such as increasing sudden rainfalls and augmented flood risks.

Measures

1 The community structure shall be made required by utilizing future energy production more compact and homogenous by utilizing such as sea heat, wind power as well as waste the network of the Region’s distinctive and wastewater more than at present shall be urban centres. New developments shall observed. The possibilities offered by zoning be located near good traffic connections. to direct building developments towards More determined steps shall be taken good energy economy shall be utilized. to make jobs and services (incl. leisure services) an integral part of the community 5 Adequately extended greenbelt areas structure in public transport nodes. inside and outside urban areas shall be ensured. These are important carbon sinks 2 Active land use policy and planning and contribute to the pleasantness and shall be applied to provide more healthiness of the compactifying community adequate, affordable and versatile structure. For their part, greenbelt areas housing in the centres, in their vicinity also help prepare for possible future and in the transport nodes. climate changes and increasing sudden rainfalls and resulting flood risks. 3 Possibilities to set up new communities leaning on rail traffic in regionally 6 In all building operations and land use, the sensible locations shall be explored. challenges brought about by climate change shall be observed. Greenhouse gas emissions 4 The land use solutions required by will be restricted with the aim of creating a decentralized small-scale energy production carbon neutral community structure. Risks shall be observed. The spatial needs related to climate change shall be minimized. 7 A genuinely motivating incentives shall be created to increase energy and material efficiency both in new building and restoration projects. The Region’s energy balance shall be monitored. The Government-granted interest subsidy loans shall be directed to energy and material efficient targets. The monitoring of the intent agreement between the Greater Helsinki municipalities and the State shall be complemented with the statistics on the energy classification of new housing units per each municipality. III Strategic alignment

Traffic emissions shall be diminished by favouring rail and other public transport, walking and biking and by ensuring that the energy consumed by traffic is carbon neutral or produced using low-carbon technology.

Measures

1 An easy-to-use system for monitoring personal energy consumption and the resulting carbon footprint shall be developed.

2 The possibility to issue congestion charging on private vehicles will be further explored.

3 Functional travel chains and a homogenous ticket system in the Region shall be developed. A public transport authority shall be set up to cover the whole Region.

4 The walking and biking networks of the roads shall be improved. Biking culture shall be promoted through versatile facilities.

5 Different measures shall be taken to decrease the harmful effects of private car traffic.

6 Economic incentives shall be developed, and the public transport service level in urban areas shall be so improved that choosing public transport and pedestrian and bicycle traffic is inexpensive and easy. IV Strategic alignment

Dispersed building shall be directed to urban areas more efficiently than at present.

Measures

1 Preventing urban sprawl shall be intensified to meet the national land use objectives.

2 The extent of dispersed building shall be defined in a municipality’s or municipalities’ strategic master plans. Component master plans for villages shall be developed to direct building in village centres.

3 Economic means to direct building activities to planning areas shall be developed, e.g. by changing the bases of taxation to support the integrity of the communal structure and by targeting the cost correlation of municipal services according to the place of residence of the user.

4 Prerequisities of agriculture and forestry shall be ensured by directing building activities to centres.

V Strategic alignment

The combining of land use, housing and traffic shall be so developed that it better meets the requirements of cost efficiency and representativeness as well as openness and clarity in governance which are necessary when competing with other European metropolises.

Measures

1 Coordination in land use and traffic planning shall be developed as well as joint action to promote land policy.

2 All parties shall commit themselves to cooperation to study the interest of the metropolitan area comprehensively and with a long time span.

3 The Letter of intent shall be made between the municipalities of Greater Helsinki and the Governmental ministries on housing production as well as on the infrastructure and the priority list of traffic projects.

4 Interaction shall be intensified in various ways between regional and municipal actors as well as between the region’s business community and residents. New means of interaction shall be introduced such as public discussion forums that are broadcast live. Realizing The Vision, The First Projects SRV Yhtiöt SRV Architects Harris-Kjisik 3D Render Oy Render 3D

HELSINKI, Meri-Helsinki ESPOO, T3 Area , Marja-Vantaa

The largest change in Science: Marja-Vantaa is the most construction in Helsinki’s Culture: significant new urban residential history. When the three cargo Business: Keilaniemi and business area to emerge ports were transferred in within the Helsinki Region, Tapiola is an esteemed residential 2008 from the city centre to and will offer some 30.000 area, a verdant Garden City Vuosaari harbour in eastern homes and 26.000 jobs in the and also the heart of Espoo’s Helsinki, some 250 hectares of future. Marja-Vantaa is being cultural services. Otaniemi has waterfront areas and railway developed along the Ring rail been recognised as one of the sites were vacated in Jätkäsaari, track that connects the city leading innovation environments Kalasatama, Kruunuvuorenranta centre to . Local in Europe. Attracted by the and Pasila. Helsinki plans to assets include its proximity preceding, many significant construct 4 million square to the airport, excellent corporations have moved into meters on these areas, which recreational facilities and good the vicinity, with Keilaniemi as will house tens of thousands transport connections. the most prolific location. The of new residents and jobs. The development of this so-called T3 construction work will take area promotes the international place in the second and third competitiveness of Espoo and decades of the 21st century. the entire metropolitan area.

www.hel.fi www.espoo.fi www.vantaa.fi 3D Render Oy More information also available on pages www.helsinginseutu.fi www.helsinkibusinesshub.fi